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Earth
Star System The third planet in the Sol system and the home planet of the human race. Geography, Geology & Climate Earth had one of the most varied climates of all colonised worlds; something that was a source of pride for those humans born on the mother-planet. As the progenitor planet for mankind, it was the planet that scientists tried to artificially emulate with their terraforming methods (Terra being the Latin for Earth). Earth had a North Pole that was surrounded with frozen waters covered in a blanket of ice and a South Pole consisting of a landmass with an average temperature of -52ºC. The equatorial lowlands of Earth generally had a tropical climate with average temperatures of 30ºC and had widespread rainforests. Indigenous Life Earth had a fantastically diverse ecology with lifeforms populating the very lowest depths of the ocean to the highest altitudes of the atmosphere. By the time mankind evolved, the planet was dominated mostly by warm blooded mammalian species that came to prominence after a series of severe Ice Ages wiped out the previous reptilian ecology. Significant Locations The human population was widely spread over the surface of Earth. London - The capital city of England and the first capital of Earth. Beijing - The capital city of The People's Republic of China and later The People's Republic of Asia. New Dehli- The capital of India and later The Indian Subcontinent. Washington D.C - The capital of the United States of America. Significant Locations Off-World Colonisation 'Early Expansionist Era' In 2105, Professor Isaac Dahl created the wormhole generator that allowed humanity to aim for the stars. Efforts to establish colonies on other planets were led by the nation state super-powers of India and the People's Republic of China who then dominated the planet and aimed to work together rather than cause tensions. In 2121 humans colonise their first off-world planet, Gliese 581g . By 2170 humans had established five more colonies and the geo-political shape of the home planet was changing. The nation state powers that had once dominated were lessening in favour of greater geographical unions. The major powers left on Earth are: The People's Asian Republic Catholic South America Arabic North Africa and the United Arab States The Democratic Republic of Southern Africa The Indian Subcontinent The North America, European and Australian Alliance. The only major independent nations are Brazil, Russia, Pakistan, Iran and Japan. While these powers are more unified within themselves, they are more tense with each other. The People's Asian Republic and The Indian Subcontinent no longer aim to work together, but instead have fallen back into the old Cold War trap. 'Mid Expansionist Era' By the 2190s three quaters of the Earth's population had formed a single government. The United Earth government lasted for eight years under the Freiheit party. Much of their time was spent applying tough economic sanctions on a stubbornly resistant People's Republic of Asia. Being the only nation independent of the United Earth government would have been crippling to any other country but the People's Republic of Asia retained control of more colonies than any other independent nation, giving it access to large numbers of resources. In 2198, the mostly Chinese dominated union decided that retaining its independence was a fruitless task and agreed to join the United Earth government. The first elections of a truly unified Earth were held (after lengthy negotiations between the various parties) in the years that followed, with ex-British Prime Minister and European President Harry Edwards of the Unification party taking the post of the first President of Earth in 2202. The United Earth government renamed itself the Earth Commonwealth with free elections held every five years and with a capital city that roamed the old nation states depending upon the nationality of Earth's president. Much of the drive towards unification came from the breakdown of old prejudices on human colonial worlds and a clear recognition that it was possible for all to work together. When the planet realises its potential however, it becomes more inwardly focused and starts to alienate the humans who have left. High taxes on trade, corrupt governors and little democracy on colonised worlds are all factors which add to the cooking pot. Soon, Earth is fighting to protect it's investments as a number of colonises declare independence . 'Late Expansionist Era' As the 23rd Century came to a close Earth managed to get the upper hand in the conflict after the government becomes militaristic. New colonies were founded, many like Aries II, simply to produce for war effort. In 2261 an Earth ship encountered an alien craft floating dead in space. After recovering the corpse of an unknown being and realising how advanced it's technology is in comparison to that of the humans, both sides bring the conflict to a close with The 581g Agreement , a treaty that heavily favoured Earth. For the first time in two hundred years, some colonies were given the equal representation on Earth and democracy seemed to flourish throughout the Commonwealth. While the discovery of the alien was not made known to the public, a heavy focus was placed on preparing for the inevitability of encountering this new threat. A decade later, fifteen human ships are confronted by a single alien ship for the first time since the initial discovery. The lone enemy destroys eleven vessels before it is stopped. For the next thirty years the Earth government took as many steps as possible to avoid any more alien contact. Further History & Conflicts 'Theolosian Wars' This eventually failed however and in 2303 the Theolosians revealed themselves to humanity. It was quickly determined that this warrior race had an empire of over two hundred planets, four times more than Earth. To begin with there was peace between the two races but in 2304 the alien race launched a surprise attack on the Aries II shipyard in the hope of crippling Earth's military forces before a war could begin. The Theolosians vastly underestimated the resitance they would face however and so started a conflict that would last for more than twenty years. On Earth little changed over these twenty years. While elections were not halted, it was generally understood by the political class that any major change during this war would be disastrous and so political qualms were put aside in the name of the greater good. While on paper this looked resonable, it also gave the Commonwealth's rulers a chance to cement themselves in positions of power and wealth. Before long members of the government were major shareholders in weapons manafactuers that were decalred vital to the war effort. This sort of corruption became systemic throughout the Theolosian Wars and so when they were ended in 2327, a panic arose. 'Post-Theolosian Wars' For the leaders of the Earth Commonwealth, there were several major problems facing them in a Post-Theolosian Wars society. Firstly the people now expected a more democratic system to return and many were looking towards the war hero John Carey to lead humanity in the future. Secondly the independent planet Parasone that had once been subordinate to the power of the Commonwealth was a genuine threat due to it's own weapons manufacturing and thirdly it now controlled huge sways of territories inherited from the Theolosian forces as well as controlling the fate of the Theolosian people and the ten different alien slave races the Empire had once controlled. Politically, the Commonwealth rearranged itself into an Empire that gave democracy to human planets but enforced law on the alien worlds who courted chaos. The Earth Empire government tricked John Carey and the forces more loyal to him than to the flag into bombing the planet Parasone, and committing mass murder. This ruined the reputation of Carey, now dubbing him as a genocidal maniac rather than a war hero and also weakened the strongest of the independent planets enough that it joined the Empire. At that time Earth government had no experience of dealing with alien races expect for fighting the Theolosians and the races they controlled. With little understanding of how these new societies, the Empire decides to intact methods similar to the Native American Reservations of the 1800s and give most a kind of freewill which is little more than the slavery they were under before. For some, especially the insectoid races, there was little desire for independence having spent so long in servitude and so continued working the same slave jobs they had for generations. The reservation planets were given no say in Earth’s democracy but most were given the chance to appoint their own governor. The planets were classified as Earth's territory and so many laws affected the alien races that they had no say in. The Theolosians received a very different treatment. The Clans that Theolosian society structured itself around were instantly outlawed and all Theolosians were forcibly spread out across the galaxy; relocated by family to settlements where their population would be too slim to do any real damage. The Theolosian culture that stood for thousands of years is destroyed in weeks. Having gained control over a galaxy that had almost destroyed it two decades before, the Earth Empire tried to usher in a new era of peace by assassinating John Carey before he could publicly stand trial for his crimes and reveal the true extent of human corruption. Governmental Systems Pre-United Earth Before the planet was under one banner it was ruled by a large number of independent nations of varying power. The 21st Century saw a swing in the super powers that controlled a major stake in the planet and the end of 'Western dominance'. The governments of China and India ended the century as the most powerful nations and were the leading countries in early space exploration. The 22nd Century saw the rise of the colony and the demise of the single nation state. As colonies blurred the lines between nationality and culture the same began to happen back on Earth. Many nations banded together to form political and economic powers that could rival the Indian and Chinese governments, which also joined with smaller powers to form unions. By 2190 a government was formed with all but The People's Republic of Asia as members. The United Earth In an attempt to show itself as a truly diplomatic union, The United Earth government based itself off one of the most democratic parliamental systems in history, the old United States of America. With a President, an Upper House named the Senate (that contained two officials appointed by each member states government) and a Lower House known as the House of Represntatives (with officials numbered by the population of each Federalized country). This system gave equal power to all countries within the Senate and avoided domination in the Representatives as most of the unions continued to vote together. This system lasted for eight years. Earth Commonwealth In mid-2197, the Chinese dominated People's Republic of Asia abandoned it's attempt to remain independent of the increasingly powerful and popular United Earth government, and through diplomatic channels via the politicians of the neighbouring Indian Subcontinent, started negotiations to merge their governing bodies with those of United Earth. On 10th October 2198, The People's Republic of Asia became the final signatories to the Charter of a United Earth and the organisation renamed itself the Earth Commonwealth. The PAR negotiated hard to get it's officials into positions of considerable influence across the various institutions of the Commonwealth. Moons In the mid 21st Century the Earth finally established it's first moonbase and several followed. Swiggert Moonbase was the fourth base constructed, located in the base of the ancient Fra Mauro crater. The Swiggert Training Facility was used primarily in the late 21st Century (and beyond) to acclimatise Terrans who have never previously left Earth before they head out into deep space from the complexes adjacent launchpad.